Saturday, October 16, 2010

Why I am supporting Morgan Philpot for CD2

The political atmosphere of the last several years has grown toxic, of that there can be no doubt. It is one of the things which frustrate me the most about politics. Most politicians spend more time calling each other names than they do solving problems. Even though we all tire of the needless vitriol at least one side of the isle has been passionate about their beliefs, and that passion leads to a lot of outrageous silliness in the House and Senate, such as Congressman Greyson’s antics about Republicans wanting sick people to die when he knows full well Republicans just want a solution to the health care problem that will make it cheaper to get care, and therefore more accessible. Harry Reid’s comments about our wanting to have a civil and rational debate about health care to (ironically) the Democrat’s wanting to slow and stall the debate over slavery in the 1800s, or even worse his obscene comments about not understanding why Hispanic voters would support Republicans. There’s a simple answer to that question, and it really boils down to concerns over the role of government, but that is another discussion. Then we have Nancy Pelosi, someone I so desire to see fired. Of all the crazies in Washington Pelosi is the worst. From telling the public that we have to pass the healthcare bill before we can know what’s in it-1, to her bizarre comments about faith-2 to her, like Obama, constantly blaming Bush for the mess we’re in without acknowledging the part Democrats had to play. After all, they have actually had control in Washington since 2006, the dirty little secret politicians don’t want you to know.

I have nothing personal against Jim Matheson. In the past his correspondence with my letter writing has been both cordial and prompt even on issues where he and I disagree he could disagree without being disagreeable and I applaud him for that. It is, to be fair, true that he has avoided much of the extremism his colleagues have been drawn to (all the while accusing regular folks who disagree with them extreme… though I think the probably mean “reactionary,” That Jim Matheson is a nice guy is not in question here, however I cannot support him any longer for a number of reasons.

First among them are the fact that in the last year or so Matheson’s correspondence has first slowed and then stopped. I am not sure why, but for me at least, he has become unresponsive.

Next is the matter of Matheson’s voting record. Certainly you can say “well he voted against the health care bill,” but he also voted for the slaughterhouse rule which would have given Nancy Pelosi the unilateral authority to “deem” the measure passed. Matheson equals Pelosi not because Matheson consistently votes for the most extreme measures of the Obama agenda, but because when his vote is the most critical, during procedural votes when his voice could kill these extremist measures and end the “fundamental transformation” (Obama’s words not mine) he votes with Pelosi. When Matheson could truly make a difference, he votes with Pelosi, and in fact if he would stand up for Utah during the procedural measure we could have stopped things like Obamacare. It is because of this tactic that statistic that he votes with his party 92% of the time-3.

Worse yet Matheson’s vote is among the last to come in during critical votes leading to much speculation that he waits to make sure the measure will pass before casting his vote. At best this behavior is indicative of someone who enjoys sitting on the fence, when he aught to be representing his constituency, at worst, and again referring to his 92% party line vote, he becomes a puppet for the Pelosi-Reid-Obama agenda the most extreme agenda America has ever seen. As a result, even though Matheson speaks softly he carries a big stick which Washington is using to bludgeon the American people, and he must be made to answer for his voting record.

Still of great concern is the fact that Matheson has had minimal contact with the public, and his ads further reveal his detachment from us as he seems to be running against Nuclear fall out rather than Morgan Philpot. Yeah, um Jim when Energy Solutions launches an attack on Utah with nuclear equipped walking battle tanks we’ll give you a call. In reality much of the “nuclear” nonsense he is taking credit for are issues resolved long before he was even elected so far as I am aware. He is talking about nuclear matters because he is avoiding the issues of the day that actually matter, like the unprecedented growth of government, the insane spending, not to mention the increasing losses of liberty. He’s avoiding these issues like the plague because he is not strong on them so its easier to dig up old fears to try and scare you into voting for him.

I have known Morgan for about a year now, I met him around the time that he was still trying to decide whether or not to run against Matheson. To me he seemed reluctant, he’s someone very leery of the power that we give elected officials, and someone who is concerned about the frequent abuses of power we see coming from Washington. He believes in the individual, and that the government should stay out of our way. He has a deep respect for the Constitution which was important for me. But beyond your typical conservative positional rhetoric what impressed me the most about Morgan was that in every presentation he gives he’d spend 15 minutes introducing himself, and then opens up the conversation to the concerns of the citizens, he spends much more time listening than he does talking. He takes the time to examine issues from as many angles as he possibly can, and he will gather as much information as he can on an issue before formulating an opinion. Then once he has an informed position on a matter he makes a stand and stands firm. I have never seen anything like this in politics. Someone who listens, studies, and contemplates the matters at hand before taking a stand. It’s unique in politics, but for me this is what makes Morgan Philpot the guy that has my vote.

Morgan is not someone who will waste our money in Washington, and he most certainly will not be an enabler the way that Matheson is. And when Morgan casts his vote in Washington we can be assured it will be a vote that not only represents us, but is indeed among the most informed votes among our representatives. For these reasons I implore you to join me, not just in voting for Morgan Philpot, but in really supporting him. Put up a yard sign, talk to your neighbors, get them to the polls. We have an uphill but winnable battle ahead, especially in Salt Lake County but make no mistake we can win, and we must. As we draw extremely close to the election we must ask ourselves one question, are we comfortable with a congressman who has placed himself in an impenetrable bubble, and enables extreme leftist legislation, or do we want someone who listens, and will represent you?

About Me

I am a Libertarian leaning Conservative in the vein of Hans Herman Hoppe, and FA Hayek. I am the author of "The Great Compromise: Getting Past The Emotional Nonsense Dividing America." I am absolutely opposed to government growth and interference in free markets. However I am not fanatical about my beliefs and in fact try my best to approach politics with a "moderate tone." I like to write about religion, entertainment and politics and write material designed to encourage individualism, entrepreneurship and free market solutions to solve the problems our State and Federal governments keep creating.